The prestigious 2023 Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) Immunization Champion Award honors individuals at the local level who go above and beyond to foster and promote vaccines for adults and/or children in their communities. This year, AIM selected Julissa Soto as the Colorado honoree. Award winners are a diverse array of pharmacists, providers, nurses, and community leaders that have made a significant impact on improving public health through increasing immunization rates for their community. Julissa has worked tirelessly throughout Colorado to promote vaccine access and uptake, particularly in the Latinx community. She works with Immunize Colorado as a trusted messenger and is responsible for getting over 23,000 Latino adults, youth, and children vaccinated. Congratulations, Julissa!
We’re Hiring! 3 Youth Vaccine Ambassador Positions
At Immunize Colorado, we work to protect Colorado families, schools, and communities
from vaccine-preventable diseases. One of Immunize Coloradoās current priorities is to involve young people (ages 16-18), as vaccine ambassadors for COVID-19, Influenza, HPV, and other recommended vaccinations in this work. Immunize Colorado is looking for young people to help us plan initiatives to improve vaccination rates for teens, particularly in BIPOC communities.
No experience is necessary for this position. The role is flexible and offers competitive pay ($18/hour). Ambassadors gain unique experience working in public health and have the opportunity to work alongside physicians, public health professionals, and other vaccine experts.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM)!
National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is an annual observance held in August which highlights the importance of vaccination for people of all ages. As vaccination rates have declined over the past two years, NIAM serves as a particularly important opportunity to remind parents to get their kids caught up on routine wellness visits and vaccines, especially before they head back to school this fall. Want to get involved? Help spread the word:
- Share Immunize Colorado’s Facebook and Twitter posts and follow along with us as we highlight NIAM on social media this month!
- Check out and share NIAM resources from the CDC and Voices for Vaccines.
- Read and share Kaiser Family Foundation’s recent issue brief, Headed Back to School in 2023: A Look at Children’s Routine Vaccination Trends.
Join the Colorado Refugee & Immigrant Immunization Taskforce (RIIT)
Immunize Colorado is currently working to reinvigorate our Refugee and Immigrant Immunization Taskforce (RIIT), a collective group of healthcare providers, community members, and public health workers dedicated to serving refugee and immigrant communities in the state. We are looking to expand the taskforce and invite community leaders and members from local refugee and immigrant communities to participate, as we recognize the need for the groups we hope to serve to have a seat at the table and be part of the decision-making process. The next RIIT meeting will take place on Zoom on Thursday, August 17 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
If you or others are interested in attending the meeting or learning more about the RIIT, please contact Edric Gagui, Immunization Outreach and Education Coordinator, at edric.gagui@childrenscolorado.org.
Immunize Colorado Offers Online Film Screening of Virulent: The Vaccine War
Immunize Colorado is excited to host an in-person screening of the filmĀ Virulent: The Vaccine WarĀ at theĀ Colorado Regional Immunization SummitĀ in June! Summit registration closes on Friday, May 26.Ā Ā
Can’t make it to the Summit? You can still join in the fun and watch the film from home! Tickets are just $15 and a portion of ticket sales will be donated back to Immunize Colorado. The film will be available to watch for a limited time from May 27 – June 5.
(Please note that Summit registrants will receive a link to watch the film online for FREE if they are unable to attend the in-person screening.)
New Data Tools Help Parents, Policymakers, and Schools Understand Their Communityās Vaccination Rates
Just 32 of 182 school districts in Colorado can boast student vaccination coverage rates of 95% or higher in all of their schools for all school-required vaccines (80% for Tdap). Thatās the goal set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesāĀ Healthy People 2030. Across the state, only 46% of students attend a school that achieved this level of coverage.Ā
These 32 districts made Immunize Coloradoās 2021/22 Immunity Community Honor Roll ā released this week ā which honors Colorado schools and school districts that achieve exceptional vaccine coverage. With 182 school districts across the state, this means just 18% of districts received this designation for the 2021/22 school year.
In addition to the Honor Roll, Immunize Colorado this week released dashboards and supplemental customized fact sheets for each Colorado school district, legislative district, and county that summarize school- and child care-level vaccination data from the 2021/22 school year made publicly available by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). These resources help child care and school staff, parents, policymakers, and the public understand the level of protection against preventable diseases in their community. The school-specific dashboards allow users to compare vaccination and exemption coverage between school districts and between schools, and to see how rates have changed over the years.
The dashboards and fact sheets demonstrate that across Colorado, vaccination coverage varies widely, as do exemption rates. (Parents can opt out of vaccinating their child by submitting a medical or nonmedical exemption to their childās school or child care.) In fact, county-level exemption rates range from 0% to 37.5% across the state; nearly a third of the stateās counties have vaccine exemption rates equal to or higher than 5%. Additionally, over 70,000 Colorado K-12 students entered school in 2021 without protection from one or more vaccines.
Over the years, these data tools have helped to increase education, communication, and coordination of efforts between local public health, school nurses and administrators, providers, families, and community members, and helped instigate collaboration on efforts to improve vaccination rates.
Colorado law requires all students attending Colorado schools and licensed child care centers to be vaccinated against certain diseases like pertussis, measles, and chicken pox. School communities with higher vaccination rates (and lower exemption rates) provide a safe learning and working environment for students and staff and are less likely to experience an outbreak of vaccine-preventable disease. Having accurate data on vaccination in a school setting is also critical to emergency response efforts.
About Immunize Colorado
Immunize Colorado is a statewide, independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Its mission is to protect Colorado families, schools, and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunize Colorado does not accept funding from vaccine manufacturers or distributors. To learn more, visitĀ www.immunizecolorado.orgĀ and connect with Immunize Colorado onĀ FacebookĀ andĀ Twitter. Media inquiries can be directed to Emily Clancy at Emily.Clancy@childrenscolorado.org. Ā Ā
Immunize Colorado Welcomes New Executive Director
Immunize Colorado is thrilled to welcome to the teamĀ our new executive director, Emily Bustos!Ā Emily isĀ a Denver native and has worked in the government and nonprofit sectors for the last 20 years. Her experience as a community development specialist and liaison to many of Denverās underserved communities has given her the opportunity to work at the program and systemic levels of community building. Most recently, she led efforts to improve the school readiness of young children in Denver as CEO of Denverās Early Childhood Council. Emily brings to the executive director role extensive experience in nonprofit management, advocacy, leadership, partnership building, program management, and strategic planning.
Call for Pediatric Providers! Help Lead Community Conversations on Vaccines
Immunize Colorado is looking for pediatric healthcare providers who might be interested in providing parents and guardians from the Latinx community the opportunity to learn more about vaccines by participating in small-group, provider-ledĀ community conversations. These conversations will take place both in person and over Zoom, ideally in April, May, or June. We will work with providers to determine a time and location, help recruit attendees, and provide marketing and tech support. Providers will receive stipends for their participation.
Interested? Reach out to Madelyn Wild for more information: Madelyn.Wild@childrenscolorado.org.
Now Available! 2021-22 Legislative District Immunization Data Dashboard and Fact Sheets
Immunize Colorado’s Legislative District Data Dashboard and supplemental fact sheets provide important information on childhood immunization coverage to help legislators and constituents in each legislative district understand the level of vaccine protection in their community and identify areas for improvement. Using data released annually by CDPHE, Immunize Colorado develops the dashboard and fact sheets customized to all 65 House and 35 Senate districts in Colorado. These tools contextualize school- and student-level protection from vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccination rates across schools, and more. We encourage advocates to use them to inform local discussions on immunization-related policy and in meetings with legislators.
Now Accepting Host Site Applications for 2023-24 Colorado Immunity Corps
Immunize Colorado is now accepting applications to be a host site for our AmeriCorps VISTA program, the Colorado Immunity Corps, for the 2023-24 program year. VISTA members serveĀ for oneĀ year and help build the capacity of their host siteĀ byĀ implementing local immunization activities that promote education and access to vaccines and primary care services. As the intermediary organization, Immunize Colorado is responsible for member recruitment and program management, while host sites directly supervise the member serving with them. For more information, please email Riley Way atĀ Riley.Way@coloradoimmunitycorps.org.
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